Insides of a bluewave ballast?

[DJ88]

Steve,

My apologies for cutting off that one part of the quote, when I was editing the post to fix a spelling mistake, I must have cut off that part. I had intended to place the entire sentence in there as it is relevant in my explanation of why the 175W may appear brighter but that is an illusion due to the different frequency make up's of the 10KK vs. the 20KK. Even more relevant actually.

And I stated why in my opinion, experience and knowledge that doesn't work. A 175W is whiter yes. Brighter or more intense? No. It appears brighter or more intense due to the fact that the frequency make up of a 10KK light is such that the various frequencies are balanced out so that the light "appears white. Which is more readily taken in and seen by our eyes. Sit and stare at that same 175 and the radium as Brad did. You'll see which is brighter. There is over DOUBLE the energy being put out by radium. Due to it's frequency make up it doesn't look like that because our eyes don't perceive the blue as easily.

a 10000K 175watt easaly over powers a radium bulb and make the tank more white than blue again..

I’ll clarify this one as well while I am at it now.

The 10KK doesn’t over power the radium. All that happens is that when the two light sources each emit their individual light the two mix and then create what in essence is a combination of frequencies. One doesn’t overpower the other. They add together to create a new color temperature light being seen by our eyes. One that is more visually pleasing and is more readily understood by our eyes.

This is why I decided to post. Clarification of what is going on was needed. Without it some newbie that had not the first understanding of lighting would read this thread. See you saying that the 175W was brighter and then say “well why the h3ll am I going to run out and buy a 400W setup if the 175 is brighter?”. And don’t say it won’t happen. It happens in all areas of this hobby. Not just lighting. People see something. Read it. And take it as gospel. Then when things go wrong and something happens they get upset and mad at what they feel was an “obvious” attempt to mislead them.

I said all of this for one reason only. Not to roast your a$$ but to let people know why a 175W may look brighter or more intense but it isn't. In the last year since you have started reef keeping you have amassed a fairly good-sized knowledge bank, which you are able to dig into and spread your knowledge around. With that said many people who don't know the first thing about this hobby and the lighting that goes along with it will read what you say and take it as 100% truth and gospel due to the fact that you have a PAR meter and can pass along the numbers that you are able to take. This is reinforced with the fact you are able to build things that most aren't capable of due to your qualifications as from past experiences, people don't bother to look at all possible sources of information. I have provided a counter point. Nothing more.

You chose to directly challenge Doug in his statement that the Radium is brighter than the 175 due to his experiences. And I am challenging and providing a counterpoint to yours. In Doug’s experience and personal views with the corals in his tank bleaching he is saying that the 175 is NOT brighter than his dual 400W Radiums. And I agree.

When I used to buy corals I would try to find out what size lighting system it came from so that I could properly acclimate it to my lighting. If you take a coral that was under a 175W prior to entering your tank would you not prefer to give it the best chance at living by letting it get used to a higher wattage light setup? You probably do. It becomes a habit. If it came from a higher wattage system than your own, no worries. Lower wattage. Start it low and far away. Then gradually move it into place. That gives you the best chances for survival.

More of my .02